Perfection isn't easy
by MaziMe
Summary: When Joey and Mai go on a break for their anniversary, Seto and Serenity are left with their three year old niece! Can Serenity keep her desire for a baby of her own at bay? All Seto wants is a perfect life and family; can he achieve that? Silentshipping oneshot.


**Hello! MaziMe here, yet again with another oneshot. This time it's my number 1. Yu-Gi-Oh! pairing: SILENTSHIPPING! Yes, this one is more innocent than the last Metal Fight Beyblade one...**

**_I__ highly doubt that!_**

**And there was my cousin Mazi, who, is a lot more mature than I am (for 13, that's quite an achievement!)... And the person I named my account after...**

_**You got that right Bambi! I'll be helping Bambi sometimes with the stories (If I can be bothered, that is).**_

**Awww! You're so kind!**

**_Yep, and I already have an idea for our next fic!_**

**Disclaimer: Anyway, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! but I wish I did!**

_**But me and Bambi do own: any OC's, the plot and a big bag of choc chip cookies! OwO**_

* * *

Seto Kaiba wondered how he got himself into this predicament. He was currently sitting on the edge of his outdoor pool, in a pair of black trunks of course, playing and splashing about with his three year old niece, a smirk befalling his lips. Serenity had begged and pleaded for him to help babysit her, while Joey and Mai went on a weekend break for their fourth anniversary. The thing was, that Serenity was nowhere to be found!

Seto had never seen his niece face-to-face, since he refused to be anywhere near the Mutt, but she seemed to be nothing like her parents. She was just like her aunt Serenity. Maria Wheeler was polite, sweet and hated being girly and overdone with the makeup and clothes. She had Joey's warm chocolate eyes and Mai's curly blonde locks; Seto was still convinced the Mutt had adopted her, even though there was visual proof they hadn't!

Maria let out a giggle as her uncle spat out some water that landed in his mouth and nose. His scowl made her shut up straight away.

"Unka, why you angy?" She asked, flinching back as he raised his hand to ruffle her curly hair. Seto thought it was strange that she would flinch at such an unharmful movement, usually a child with trauma or a history of being beaten would flinch like that.

_'Then again, she's the Mutt's daughter. He'd probably bite her and Mai at any chance he would get! No wonder he was so eager to leave her with us!'_

"I'm not angry. The water just hurt my eye." He noticed the sun started setting. "Come on Maria, let's go inside." He hoisted the baby into his arms, letting her cuddle into his chest to keep warm.

The maid waiting inside the giant glass conservatory handed him a towel and walked off elsewhere. Seto wrapped it around Maria, while walking upto the nearest bathroom, where he would wash that chlorine out of her hair before dinner.

When they entered, Maria's head perked up. She'd never seen a bathroom so fancy before! Sure, her mommy and daddy had a big house themselves, but it was nothing compared to uncle Seto's!

The main bathroom of the Kaiba mansion had a gold and white theme to it. On the right, sat a sink, nearly as wide as a single bed! The many cabinets sat above it and beside it. Next to the sink was the (thankfully, average in size) toilet. On the left was a jacuzzi and a bathtub. The bathtub could have fit in at least five grown people, with space still left for a small child! (You can now guess how big the jacuzzi is!) Finally, on the far wall, sat a giant glass shower with racks of shower gels and towels.

Seto approached the bath. Someone had already filled it up, to his convenience. He settled Maria down into the warm water, before grabbing a towel to dry himself off. He then grabbed a bottle of Johnson's baby shampoo with hints of lavender to lather into her curls.

Maria then started to make a humming sound. "What are doing?" Seto asked rather abruptly.

"It feels NISHE!" She smiled as she enjoyed her head massage with closed eyes and the sound of popping bubbles.

_'You are too cute.' _Seto was too proud to say it aloud but he would admit to himself and **maybe** congratulate his sister-in-law on making sure her child was nothing like her father. "Shall I take your swimming costume off, or do you want auntie 'Ren to do it for you?"

Maria frowned and screeched, "You're a **man**! You can't lookie me! Dat's rude!"

"Ok, ok, I'll go get auntie 'Ren," Seto breathed.

_'But wait, aren't you supposed to **always** supervise a child in the bath?' _He looked back. She was splashing about like a normal three year old would. Suddenly, "Oww! Unka!"

Seto ran back to the tub and asked what was wrong. "Soapy got in my eye! Oww!"

Maria started to cry even more as Seto poured water over her eyes. Then, Serenity made her grand entrance...

"What's wrong baby? Oh, you got soap in your eye? Come on, it's ok, it's ok, don't rub it, don't rub it," She hugged Maria and grabbed the shampoo bottle. "And they say 'No more tears'! Maria, it's ok. I remember when your daddy got soap in his eyes. He would jump out of the bathtub, without a towel, and run around the house until grandma Sophie grabbed his ear and threw him back into the bath!"

"Daddy really did that?" Serenity nodded as Seto chuckled. Maria started giggling at the thought of her big, strong daddy crying because there was soap his eye! Soon, all the pain and soap had gone away. When they finished washing the toddler, Serenity took Maria to her and Seto's bedroom to put her into her nightie. Then, Seto locked the bathroom door, stripped and stepped into the shower. Rubbing his scalp with LYNX Twist shower gel, he thought about the way Serenity acted with Maria. She was so motherly and sweet. He would love it if they could have their own child. It was something he craved. A baby of his own. But Seto wasn't one for the "fun" side of the reproductive cycle. That wasn't why he married Serenity! Sure, he enjoyed it on their wedding night, Valentine's and the two anniversaries that just passed, but even then, it seemed like Serenity's body didn't want her to get pregnant. They'd had a little fun here and there, but it wasn't like there was any protection involved! She should be pregnant by now! Right?...

Ten minutes later, he reappeared from the bathroom in a deep blue bathrobe. He ventured up a set of stairs to the bedroom he and Serenity now shared. The happy couple's room had teal walls and a black border with fancy patterns on them. Right across the oak door, a king size bed sat with blue covers and pillows. The walk-in-wardrobe was to the right next to another door leading to a marble en-suite bathroom. Behind the door a dressing table sat, with combs, jewelry (including Mr Kaiba's million dollar watches), perfumes, pins and the like. A large mirror hung above it. To the left, double doors leading to the vast balcony spread across the whole wall. Blue curtains with black swirls covered the view of the outside world at night.

Serenity had just finished dressing the now relaxed Maria and was about to lead her downstairs for some evening cartoons before dinner. "We're going down to the living room. Joining us?" Serenity asked. Maria looked up at him with a smile and giggled as his wet fringe flopped into his eyes. She looked even cuter in her pink kitty nightgown.

Seto leaned down, gave her a kiss on the cheek and teasingly whispered to Serenity, "You want me to go down like this? In front of your niece? You dirty girl," She giggled at him. "I'm coming, let me get dressed."

Another ten minutes later, Seto came down in a pair of his trademark black skinny jeans, a white T-shirt and black boots. His hair was still damp but it settled on his nose like it normally did. Serenity and Maria were sitting on a creamy couch waiting to be called for dinner. He strolled over to cuddle up with his wife.

"Hey sweetie," Serenity smiled, giving him a sweet kiss on the lips.

Maria covered her eyes, "Icky! Why you being like mommy and daddy?!" Referring to the fact that mommy and daddy were nearly always making out! Serenity laughed and pulled Maria into her lap for the next twenty minutes.

"Mr Kaiba, dinner is ready," A maid informed. They all got up from their seats and walked into the dining room. Mokuba ran down the stairs and into the room just as Maria had been settled into her booster seat.

Mokuba hadn't changed drastically over the years. He was about his brother's height now with his shaggy black hair falling to his lean shoulders. His voice was still pretty high pitched, but it had more of a male tone to it now.

"Ooohhhh! Who's this cutie pie? **She** is Joey's kid?" Serenity and Seto nodded. "She is so cute!" He ran upto her and pulled her into his arms. "I'M FINALLY AN UNCLE!"

"Auntie! The man is stange!" Maria cried.

"Mokuba, let go of Maria. Maria, he's not man, he's your uncle Mokuba. My little brother," Seto stated dryly. "Though I suppose he is quite strange."

Maria and Mokuba stared at each other for a few seconds. Then, Maria threw her arms around the seventeen year old's neck, giggling all the while. Mokuba put Maria back into her seat and took off to his own. Dinner was then poured out into their plates.

It was spaghetti bolognese. With cheese.

Maria **loved** spaghetti bolognese! (And cheese!) "NUMMY!" She **really loved** spaghetti bolognese! Especially sucking up the pasta like it was a worm. The Kaiba's laughed at her adorable reaction as Serenity spooned up a big helping of mincemeat and placed it into her watery mouth. To say she loved it was an understatement! It was her favourite food in the **whole, wide world. **When they'd all finished, it was 9pm. **Far** too late for a three year old to be awake! Sadly, she was just like Joey, by the fact that she could stay awake until midnight, but she was also just like Mai, meaning that tomorrow, she'd be up at 7am!

"Mokuba, do you mind if Maria sleeps in your room? She won't go to sleep around me and since she likes you more than Seto..."

"'Course 'Ren, I'd love it! It would give me something to cuddle up with instead of freezing," Mokuba cooed at Maria.

"Make sure you don't have another wet dream about Rebecca though," Seto smirked. Mokuba **freaked** out like **never** before!

"Hey, that was only **twice**! You promised you'd **never** say that out loud!"

While the adults laughed, Maria let out large yawn, startling Serenity. She never usually yawned this early.

_'Must be all the swimming she did today. Or rather splashing!' _Serenity thought, a smile on her face. "Boys, Maria's tired. I'm taking her up to your room Mokie." She scooped her up and walked off to Mokuba's room.

Upon entering the young adult's bedroom, she made a mental note to remind Mokuba to **clean it! **She strolled to the massive bed and placed her niece down and kissed her on the forehead. The dear was already fast asleep. Serenity pulled the thick purple covers over Maria and tiptoed out of the room to catch Mokuba reaching for the handle.

"Is Maria asleep?" He asked.

"Yeah, the poor thing's probably missing Mai 'n' Joey," She whispered back. "Good night Mokie." Serenity gave him a smile and hugged him goodnight before strolling to her and Seto's bedroom.

When she opened the door, her husband was pulling his T-shirt over his head, revealing his toned torso. He had already changed his jeans for sweatpants so he was ready for bed. Standing behind him, her slender fingers slowly caressed his stomach, as she left soft, loving kisses on his back. He let out a sigh, slowly turning around to catch her lips. His locket dangled between them, hitting her once in a while, as their bodies drew closer. Slowly, they parted, Seto pulling her legs around his waist as her grip tightened around his neck. "I love you 'Ren. More than anything." He walked over to their king sized bed and dropped her, him laying on top of her, in the same way when he was standing as he kissed her once more. Their kisses were full of love and passion. Their lips always worked in unison, their tongues danced the perfect tango.

He remembered their honeymoon in Italy. It was perfect. On their first night together, after their eight hour flight, he took her to a masquerade ball in Florence. God... The way she danced was so **enticing. **He remembered how they were in the spotlight, how the other male guest's stared at them, **envious** that their women's legs weren't as fine tuned as Serenity's (the great thing was that nobody recognized him because of his mask, if that was the case he would have been called a romantic twinkle-toes!) He would always stay close to her, not letting her dance with anyone but him! She never approached another man anyway. She only wanted him, as she led him back to their penthouse...

"I love you too Seto," Serenity panted, resting her head in the crook of his neck as he lay on his back, pulling her into his chest. She fiddled with his locket before opening it to reveal four pictures laying atop one another.

The first photo was of them on their wedding day. Serenity was leaning against Seto, who had his arms around her from behind with his chin on her right shoulder. For once, a real smile graced his handsome features. Serenity was dressed in an off the shoulder ball gown. The sleeves were simply a blue piece of chiffon wrapped around her upper arm in one sweet glance. The white silk bodice was form-fitting with a small blue bow fastened in between her ample bosom and covered in small sapphires in a pattern made to look like a rose. The sapphires then led down to her skirt. The skirt was also silk with the sapphires as pins to hold the pinups in place. Her hair was pulled into a simple ponytail on her left shoulder with the ends spiral curled. Holding her locks together was a blue iris with its stem stuck in the equally blue elastic band. In her hands she held a bouquet of blue and white irises.

The second picture was of Mokuba at four years old, when him and his brother lived in the orphanage. He held a big grin on his face as he moved a pawn in a game of chess with Seto. An eleven year old Seto was also in the picture, a caring smile gracing his lips. Some of the other unfortunate children had also crowded around the table to watch an intense battle between a toddler and a preteen!

The third picture was old and tatty. But it meant so much to Seto. A photo of his parents. His **real** parents. Rei Nakazawa had deep violet eyes and long, unruly chocolate locks. Her skin was a light tan, much like Mokuba's. Overall she was the most beautiful woman Serenity had ever seen. The man next to her, Shōtaro Nakazawa, was a little paler, well built, had broad shoulders and intense blue eyes. His black hair was cut short and neat, unlike his wife's. They were both sitting under an oak tree, she in a red and white plaid dress with her hair brushing across her brow and him, in denim jeans with a red T-shirt. The perfect couple. It looked like Rei'd been expecting for at least seven months now.

When Serenity first asked whether it was Mokuba or him in there, Seto smiled and whispered, "If it was Mokuba in there, my mother would be laying in bed sleeping, eating and holding me until I needed to go to school. Not going for a picnic in the park!"

The sad thing was, that even though Seto tried to smile about it, saying it wasn't a big deal, Serenity had found one of Seto's childhood diaries in the attic when they were still dating. Rei had been killed by eclampsia. He'd never told her anything like that. When she came across the page, it was covered in tear marks, the paper had wrinkled. "Eclamsa" was what he wrote that day.

She put that picture at the back of the pile. The last photo, was **absolute precious! **It was a picture of Seto at two years old in a yellow baby grow covered in little Kermit the frog's! He was in his mother's arms on a brown leather couch, laughing his head off and clapping his hands. When Serenity looked closely, she could see his two bottom teeth were just starting to emerge. It was just too cute! Rei held a proud, happy smile for her son as she wrapped her sun-kissed arms around his little waist. It seemed that Shōtaro was taking the picture as he wasn't sitting next to his little family.

Serenity put the pictures back into their original places and closed the card shaped locket. She hadn't realized she'd been staring at the pictures for ten minutes! She rose out of Seto's arms to change into her nightie. "You seemed to love looking at those pictures," Seto murmured as he watched her unbutton her blouse. "The last one especially."

"Yes. I always thought Mokuba was the cute one. Turned out I was wrong!" Pulling her leggings off, she skipped over to him in her blue lacy underwear. "**You** are the cute one," she whispered, sitting on the bed and pulling his head into her lap to kiss him. She was soon lying underneath him again, this time playing with his hair. He wove his head into her neck to give her a tease she deserved. It tickled** a lot** and even after three years of her going out with him and another two being married to him, Serenity was **still** not used to this kind of treatment!

"Stop it Seto! What did I do to deserve this?!" She laughed and tried to push his head away but failed.

He soon pulled away, grinning from ear to ear. They stared into each other's eyes.

"Seto?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you feel about... Children?"

He sighed, "I'd love our own, if you wanted one..."

"I really do! Taking care of Maria really pushed my need for a baby." She stroked his soft chocolate hair as she smiled, earning a deep moan.

His eyes darted down and around the room. "Well..."

"Yes?"

"Do you want a child that badly?"

She heard the hint in his velvety voice. "Seto, you know how I feel about doing tha-"

He cut her off with, "Well, we're not going to be able to have a baby if we don't."

Her face fell. "I know that Seto. It's just that... I'm scared."

"Of what?" Seto rose to place Serenity's head on his shoulder. "What are you scared of?"

"I don't know, it just scares me."

"Pregnancy... Or sex?" He gazed down at her thoughtful face.

"Both I guess. Pregnancy because you never know if something might go wrong and sex because... It... It still hurts. I still feel like I'm being ripped apart."

"I'll go as softly as I can but... Why didn't you tell me?" He stroked her cheek, staring at her, his eyes full of concern.

"I thought it would bother you." Tears threatened to fall.

Seto leaned in to kiss her soft, rosy lips. "If you were hurting I would drop everything, **stop** everything, until you felt better. I would do that because I love you. You know that don't you?"

Serenity bit her lip. Of course she knew that! She'd definitely do the same for him! "Of course I do Seto! It's just... Like on our anniversary, when I started crying... It wasn't because you made me feel so good I **had **to cry... It hurt and I didn't say anything because everything had already gone so wrong and I thought you'd be mad at me for ruining one moment for you when everything went right!"

It was true. Their second anniversary in June was a **total** **disaster! **(It's been two months since then) The special cake Serenity made with all her love had burnt, Seto had to stay behind at Kaiba Corp. for a last-minute business meeting, their flight to Paris was cancelled due to heavy storms and the only way to console each other was sex. It was still kind of romantic though: he dried her tears, said he loved her, lit some candles as she got changed in the en-suite bathroom and then gave her more his love.

He shook his head in disbelief. Did she think he would beat her just because she was in pain? "Why the hell would you think that? Serenity, I love you more than anything in the world. I'd never hurt you intentionally!" He paused to look at her. In her eyes, he saw fear. Real fear. "Why are you scared? C'mon, stop crying. Sweetheart..." Her stroked her baby soft cheek as she dug her head into his bare chest.

"If you want, we can still try to have a baby," she murmured after several minutes of tears.

Seto thought about this. If they went ahead with it, she would be in pain, but there was a chance she also got pregnant. If they didn't, she definitely wouldn't be in pain, but they also wouldn't have a baby.

"If **you** want, we can go ahead. It's really your decision because you'll be the one getting pregnant," he whispered as he kissed her forehead.

Silence.

"Yeah. I wanna try to make you happy. At least I know you won't try to hurt me, or run away when you get the news."

Her smile always made him smile. She was his drug. He was addicted. And now he knew she wanted his baby. He dwelled on this as they began foreplay.

And for the first time, it didn't hurt.

_'Oh god, why didn't I tell him earlier?'_

* * *

The next day, Serenity woke up with a smile. The smile lasted all day as her, Mokuba, Maria and Seto had a family day in. They had a few swims in the pool, played games in the garden, even played with the Alsations and Golden Labradors, baked cookies for Joey and Mai for when they got back (Seto, being the way he was, wrote on his, "Condolences Mai, for having to stay with a Mutt. (But that **does not** mean I don't love Maria)), ate some of those cookies (except Seto's), and watched a few movies.

At 7pm, Mokuba had to go out on a date with his girlfriend, Rebecca Hawkins. So Seto, Serenity and Maria waited for Joey and Mai to come and pick up their daughter and watched The Muppets. When the movie had just finished at around half past 8, the doorbell rang. Serenity got up to answer the door as she left Seto to say goodbye to Maria.

"Hel- Oh, you guys are back! I missed you so much!" She squealed as she gave her brother and sister-in-law a big hug.

"I missed you too 'Ren! I especially missed my little baby! Where is she?" Mai always loved her little Maria from the day she found out she was pregnant with her. She couldn't go anywhere without her unless she knew Serenity or Kaiba was with her because they were some of the only few people she trusted!

"Yeah, I missed ma baby too ya know!" Joey exclaimed putting an arm around his wife giving her shoulder a squeeze. "Kaiba betta notta brainwashed her!"

Serenity giggled. Joey would always be the same! "No, he did not brainwash her! He's actually been very fatherly with her. He told me himself, 'I think I'm getting attached to the puppy!'" Serenity and Mai laughed at her failed impersonation of her husband.

Joey was seething with anger as he hissed, "My... baby... is **not**... a puppy! What's he gonna do next? Call Mai a poodle? I bet he calls ya a Chihuahua behind ya back!"

Serenity plastered on a serious face. "No, he does not! Actually, he calls me Serenity, 'Ren, baby..." She began daydreaming about his kisses, the way held her and last night...

"Ok 'Ren, I'm sorry. It's just dat I still don't trust Kaiba, ya know?" He gathered her up in a hug as her pondering ceased.

"I hate to break up reunion time, but can I have my baby back now?!" Mai screeched, anxious to hold her baby girl again.

"Oh yeah, of course. Come inside, she's in the living room." The Wheeler's followed their sister through the maze that was the Kaiba mansion.

When they reached the room, they heard voices. It sounded like Seto and Maria were having their own little conversation.

"I love you Maria."

"I love you as well, but not like mommy or daddy."

Seto chuckled. "Are you going to come and see me again?"

"Yeah! I wanna go swimming again and play with the doggies!"

"Doggies?" Joey mouthed. Mai shrugged and listened on.

They both laughed as Seto threw her from his lap, up into his arms. He dragged his fingers through her blonde curls. Seto leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

"Maria, if you want **anything, **anything** at all, **all you have to do is come to me. But that doesn't mean I'm spoiling you." Maria smiled, digging her head into his neck.

"Can you make my mommy and daddy come home? I'm missing them." It was the sweetest thing either of the four adults had ever heard.

"They should be here in a minute. Shall we go see who's at the front door?" He smiled at her and held her up in his arms. Maria still had her head buried in his neck and her tiny hands on his shoulders. When he opened the door however, a sight he wasn't expecting hit him right between the eyes.

Serenity, Joey and Mai were standing right there, looks of disbelief glued onto their faces. Mai was the first to speak, "I certainly didn't expect Kaiba to be so daddy-like."

"MOMMY!" Maria's head shot up. She bounded out of Seto's arms and to her mother's instead.

Mai held her daughter to her chest squealing about how she missed her and loved her so much. Joey lifted Maria's head from her mother's shoulder saying, "Don't I get a hug?"

"Yeah!" Maria reached for Joey's arm, pulling him closer to his family.

As they "family" hugged, Serenity hugged her husband and whispered, "What was that all about?" He shrugged, kissing her forehead and looking back at his in-laws.

"I MISSED YOU! I'm never leaving you again," Mai screamed as she spun around with Maria. Joey grabbed her hand and led her to the door.

"C'mon babe, let's go!"

As the Wheeler's left, Seto and Serenity Kaiba waved at the doorstep. When they left Serenity whispered, "Do you think **we'll** ever have a baby as beautiful as Maria?"

Seto looked down at her, smiled and whispered back, "Yes we will," He rubbed her flat tummy, "I'm sure of it."

* * *

_Nine months later..._

The stark white ceiling blinded her as Serenity struggled to breath. "SETO, HELP!"

"I'm here sweetie, I'm here. Don't worry, you're doing fine," he whispered, squeezing her hand while kissing her forehead and cheeks.

She gasped, groaned and cried. "It's hurting me! Seto, make it stop!" He wanted to so badly. It was killing him to see her like this!

The female doctor looked up at him and informed, "It's not looking good, she's losing a lot more blood than we thought."

Seto continued to kiss her; to soothe her. "Serenity, it's gonna be ok. You'll be fine."

She stared up at him with pure pain in her eyes, silently asking why he was lying to her. She looked down at the doctor, who nodded, commanding, "I need you to push, as much as you can!"

She obeyed her orders. This went on for several hours. By this time, Serenity was covered in sweat; not able to breath and had made her husband's hand **very** numb. Soon her cries of pain stopped. Instead there was a different type of crying. Small, weak and pink was the being that was placed in her arms by the nurse. It ceased its crying, opening its eyes to gaze up at its mother. Serenity cooed at it, stroking its soft cheek as it continued to cry.

"Congratulations, it's a girl," said the blonde nurse, "Do you have a name for her?"

Seto looked at his newborn daughter. She was absolutely beautiful. He then gazed at Serenity. She'd never looked more beautiful to him. Even through the eye bags, sweaty brow and disheveled hair, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Serenity looked up into his eyes. "What should we name her?" She whispered huskily.

"I think you've known the answer to that question all along." He kissed her forehead, smiling softly.

"I'm sorry, but you **need** to give her a name **now!**" It seemed that the nurse in front of them was not a very patient woman. Seto gave her a glare and she quickly backed down.

Serenity looked up and sighed with a small smile, "Aiko. That's what we'll name her."

"Perfect," Seto grinned as he kissed her cheek, holding Aiko's tiny hand.

Everything was perfect. His life was perfect. All because of two people.

Serenity and Aiko Kaiba.

* * *

**So, how was it?**

**_It started out really innocent, turned steamy, then went innocent again! What's wrong with you?!_**

**Ok, ok, sorry! Keep your pants on! Anyway, what did you guys think? I'd love to hear, so review please! (Constructive criticism helps!) 'Till next time, sayonara my readers!**

**P.S. The spelling and grammar mistakes in the speech are there because that's how Joey and a three year old would speak.**


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